A long holiday weekend is less than 24 hours away, and one thing is for certain: at some point over the course of the next three days, I will drink a mimosa. Or two. OK, if we are being realistic, four. While many establishments offer mimosas with a variety of juices, I prefer the classic orange juice variation.
How about you?
On Monday, I officially kick-started my campaign to bring the retro sloe gin fizz back into favor! It's one of my favorite brunch cocktails for its fruity-floral quality. What's yours?
For a sweet brunch cocktail that's more complex than the standard mimosa, I turn to fizzes — mixed drinks that consist of a spirit shaken with acid, soda water, and egg whites for frothiness. While they've been around for well over a century, they gained international acclaim in the 1950s. Some of them — like the Ramos gin fizz — remain popular today.
Less commonly seen (but no less satisfying!) is the sloe gin fizz. It's similar to the gin fizz, although the star ingredient is sloe gin, a liqueur made from spirits infused with the sloe berry, an astringent fruit that's related to the plum.
The resulting tipple has a ripe, cassis-like flavor with an effervescent, floral finishing note. By drinking more sloe gin fizzes, I'm hoping to bring them back. Join me in the cause when you keep reading.
I love brunch and even more so, I love brunch cocktails! This past weekend, my great uncle taught me how to make his effervescent, tangy, and delicious gin fizz.
There are many different types of gin fizzes. The simplest version combines gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. The Ramos Gin Fizz, a New Orleans classic, dates back to 1888, and jazzes up the recipe by adding lime juice, cream, orange flower water, and egg white.
My great uncle has perfected his variation to include gin, sugar, cream, lime juice, orange juice, soda water, ice, and one whole egg. The egg made me a little nervous, but it adds a fabulous texture and frothiness to the blended drink. If you don't want to use raw eggs, substitute powdered egg white.
To add a little fizz to your weekend brunch, read more
